As part of the launch of the GFX100S medium format camera, Fujifilm published a commercial that scoffs at the idea of “leaked” technology products. Although he stops referring to rumored websites, he plays with an idea that really happened.
In what appears to be a clear reference to a case where an Apple engineer left a prototype of the iPhone in public in 2010. In the commercial, an engineer from Fujifilm, still dressed in a colorful Hawaiian shirt and necklaces, leaves the $ camera 6,000 at a breakfast buffet on Oahu.
In the case of the iPhone, a 27-year-old software engineer who was then field testing Apple’s unreleased fourth generation iPhone accidentally dropped it at the bar of a German restaurant in Redwood City, California. It is one of the few documented examples of breaches of Apple’s now legendary sphere of secrecy.
In the commercial, camera thieves threaten (and actually begin to) exclude sensitive images from Fujifilm product launches unless their demands are met. Capitulating, Fujifilm employees end up asking to hear what the thieves want.
The commercial turns silly when the demands are just for the camera to sell for $ 6,000, which Fujifilm had intended all along.
Fujifilm missed an opportunity to scoff at data leakers like FujiRumors, which posted camera prices and photos long before the official product announcement. The commercial could have shown thieves threatening to share camera photos online instead of deleting the company’s estimated launch content, which is a more realistic scenario.
That aside, the commercial is a fun and cheerful approach to launching technology products and is extremely well produced. If you are interested in reading more about the FujiFilm GFX100S, you can read PetaPixel’s full camera coverage here.